That the GTCO Food and Drink Festival has come and gone, is no longer news. The event which held from Saturday April 30 to Monday May 2nd 2022, was not only a huge success, but attracted over one million visitors in the three days while it lasted. GTCO Food & Drink Festival is an annual food exhibition and sales event that aims to project the diverse angles of the food industry by connecting various businesses involved in the production and sale of food-related items to a cosmopolitan audience of food enthusiasts. CHARLES NWAGBARA reports for thebladengr.com….
AN URBAN FOODS SHOP
The GTCO Food and Drink Festival is really an urban food shop experience. It consists a lot of shops offering from abacha, amala to the most delicious intercontinental cuisines. The GTCO Food and Drink Festival offered all the sumptuous dishes you ever dreamt or read about and more.
DRINK OR DROWN
You start with the sweet fresh Palm Wine outside the main arena and work your way to the most exquisite of tastes in brandy, scotch or wine. You name it and voila! it was yours for the asking. Indeed, many folks got “high” tasting various new drinks on display.
ABOUT THE CLASSY ORANGE CARPET
The whole arena blended well with the adopted colour of GTCO. The expansive arena was laid with soft yellow rugs that made movement feel pleasurable.
INSIDE OUT
Inside the fully air conditioned main hall, the crowd moving around or sitting at the food and drink stalls, were orderly. Everyone just caught their fun buying food and drinks or eating. Families were well organised. The children were taken to their own special place inside the main arena. Outside the main hall, was another level altogether. It had a lush green carpet in the main arena with the shops surrounding it. Forget the upscale trappings of the main arena inside, the outside pavilion was where you can’t ignore. The DJ outside belted out good tunes as the MCs followed up, advertising the foods and drinks in display, the vendors and generally making visitors to get to the rightful paces.
WHEN THE BOSS CAME TO THE FESTIVAL
GTCO Chairman and Group CEO, Segun Agbaje was upstairs at the master class section throughout the first day. Perched on the barstool at the VIP master class section upstairs, he was taking in the whole scenario in the main hall and chatting with his staff. You wouldn’t know he was there as he fit into the look of someone who had come for the show to catch fun.
AT THE CHILDREN ARENA
GTCO Food and Drink Festival is indeed a family experience. The children arena is an out of this world fun experience. It had everything Disney land boasts of and more. The kids had an unlimited choice of gadgets to play with and it was common sight in the three days to see many of them crying and telling their Mums they didn’t want to go home. It was better experienced than told.
HOW TO LEARN TO COOK CLASSICAL DISHES IN 30 MINUTES
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Festival was the Master classes. GTCO brought a total of 13 individuals and three groups who taught at the Master classes.
They taught from the art of making Pies to the most delicate cuisine in the world. On day one, the duo of Rico Toress and Diego Galicia, wowed with their class on the theme, “A Glance of Mexico’s History through its ingredients.”
Of course their meal consisted of Plantains, food most people at the class were at home with.
Others who taught the master class include, Ed Baine, Eden Hagos, Yui Miles, Gason Nelson, Femi Oyediran and Miles White, among others.
WHY THE VISITORS GAVE GTCO RESOUNDING PRAISE
Forget the food and drink, one thing everyone applauded about the organisation, was the security. From the entrance to the main arena and especially the Children section, security was top notch.
For you to access the children area, you needed to be a parent or guardian. You only get through with a token which you must also produce to step out of the place with your child or children. The security is even intensified inside as the children jump on trampolines and bouncing castles.
